Gather for Encouragement
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Week 1 - Gather For Encouragement
Big Idea - Life is difficult, confusing, and frustrating. To know that you have a place to go and be lifted up or challenged to keep moving in faith every week is a gift.
Prayer - Bring us together, Lord. In a world filled with discouragement let us find encouragement in fellowship with other believers. Spur us on to love and good works.
Main Scripture - Hebrews 10:24-25
Introduction
Today we begin a 4-week series on gathering together. So you’re already heading in the right direction.
To begin, I want to ask you a question; What do you know about solitary confinement?
Yes, you heard me right, What do you know about solitary confinement?
It’s interesting that solitary confinement or something called, administrative segregation, is often used in prisons as a way to further discipline unruly or dangerous inmates. In a study covering the effects of solitary confinement, a 2012 article published by the American Psychological Association reported that,
“Deprived of normal human interaction, many segregated prisoners reportedly suffer from mental health problems including anxiety, panic, insomnia, paranoia, aggression and depression.” The article goes on to say, “evidence of these effects comes as no surprise. It borders on being common sense, but it's common sense with a lot of empirical research that supports it…
So much of what we do and who we are is rooted in a social context.
So much of what we do and who we are is rooted in a social context.
So much of what we do and who we are is rooted in a social context. You don’t need empirical research and longitudinal studies to understand that the adverse effects of being alone are severe enough that we impose them on criminals.
Think about that for a moment...We use solitary confinement to discipline criminals!
From a biblical perspective, the need for community goes back to creation:
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
With that in mind, why have so many of us willingly chosen lives of isolation, cut off from others? What are we missing? If so much of what we do and who are is rooted in our social contexts, then who are we apart from those things?
What mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits are we missing out on?
Over the next four weeks I hope to address some of these questions. I believe that gathering together is powerful, and even more importantly, it's biblical. I believe that :
One of the most important reasons we gather together is to encourage one another.
One of the most important reasons we gather together is to encourage one another.
Main Teaching
Encouragement is one of those things that we all need from time to time and some of us desperately need right now. The writer of Hebrews said it this way;
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
The Message puts it this way:
24 Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25 not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
You may have noticed from the passage that the way we encourage each other and spur one another on towards love and good deeds is by gathering together. Have you ever tried to encourage yourself when you’re alone? How difficult is it?
Some might call this self talk or positive thinking. There is a very real place for it when you don’t have access to others.
But, there is something deeply transformative and powerful about being part of a group committed to encouraging one another towards a common goal.
Just think about your favorite sports team, or addiction recovery groups, or the youth group fundraiser for summer camp.
(Pastor - this could be a great place for a more personal story about your life or your community to further illuminate the power of encouragement. Is there a goal your church is trying to reach? Is there a testimony from years past of the congregation spurring one another on?)
Spur One Another On.
Spur One Another On.
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
So, what exactly does it mean to spur (motivate) one another on towards love and good deeds?
First of all, we need to deal with the word spur. The only other time you see this word used in the New Testament is in Acts 15:39 when Paul and Barnabas have such a sharp disagreement that they separate from each other in their missions work.
Strong’s concordance defines the word as; incitement (to good), or dispute (in anger), contention.
The point here being that spurring someone towards love and good deeds is not a passive action but a very intentional, passionate, and purposeful action.
If you’ve ever seen a cowboy use their spurs on the side of a horse to get it moving then you’ve got a good idea of what’s going on in this passage. I think we can all agree that there are times in our lives where we need a little extra help to get moving. We need a good spurring.
As believers, we need to move towards Christ-centered love and good works that all point back to Him. We also need to help others avoid a stagnant life of faith, isolated from the community. It can be far too easy to grow complacent and disillusioned with the convenience and chaos of 21st century life.
It is too easy to get discouraged and too dangerous to journey alone.
So,
Don’t Give Up
Don’t Give Up
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Life is a marathon, not a 200 meter dash. There will be long stretches of relative ease and enjoyment followed by adversity, despair, and moments of feeling like you want to give up.
And this race is long enough that the cycle repeats itself over and over again. Even those whose faith is in Christ are not immune to the pitfalls of life. There are some who would go as far to say that believers should expect more difficulty, not less.
And there are people with us even today who are immersed in incredibly trying seasons of adversity.
To you I would say, “Don’t give up, you’re not alone...Thank you for being here today.”
King David, who knew a thing or two about adversity, reminds us,
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
One of the reasons we gather together is to encourage those who are hurting to keep pressing on. Together we remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Our passage from Hebrews says that there are some who’ve made a habit of not meeting together. I know that many of you understand the idea of a habit - what they are - how many days it takes to make and break them, etc...
Let’s take it a step further today. The word translated as habit here is the word ethos in the original language. It also means custom or rite and it sounds an awful lot like our English word ethos, which is obviously, not a coincidence.
The english definition of ethos is; the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature or guiding principles of a person, group, or institution. (Webster’s)
What Hebrews is saying is that some have made it their custom, it is who they are, to neglect gathering together. As believers, one of our defining characteristics is that we regularly meet together. There are many reasons why we come together and we will explore several of them through this 4-week series, but I want to be clear about something here. For all the benefits we receive in fellowship it’s deeper than that.
We gather together because that’s who we are.
When adversity comes to our doorstep.
When things don’t go our way.
When we are confused, frustrated, and angry.
We join with others in fellowship and we spur each other on towards love and good deeds because It’s who we are.
It’s what we do.
Do it More, Not Less
Do it More, Not Less
Let me ask you something, and I want you to use your imagination for a moment.
If you spent your whole life thinking that you were an antelope and then one day you learned that you were actually a lion wouldn’t you want to start doing all the things that lions do? Wouldn’t you want to learn about life as a lion? And as you learned, wouldn’t it be reasonable to think that everyday you would look, sound, smell, and be more like a lion than an antelope?
Wouldn’t it also be weird to see that same lion going back to the antelope life after tasting the alternative?
Isn’t it also weird to see professing Christians behave in ways that seem contrary to their nature?
Isn’t it reasonable to think that as a person grows deeper in faith and understanding of Jesus and His bride that they would want to spend more time with others who believed as well?
And if it’s part of our nature, our ethos to gather together, then it makes sense why this passage in Hebrews says we should do it all the more as we see the day approaching. I think most of us in the room today would agree we need more encouragement not less. More spurring on to love and good deeds, not less. More of the bride of Christ, not less.
We need to spend more time acting like lions, not less.
Conclusion/Application
As we wrap up our time today I want to share with you a few verses from Matthew 24. In this chapter Jesus talks about the end times, and I want to look specifically at verses 10-13 together;
10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Every day that passes is a day closer to the return of Christ for His bride, His Church. And as Jesus warned, with an increase of wickedness comes a decrease in love for one another.
It feels to me like we’re seeing that decrease all around us every day.
Friends, it is so unbelievably important that we commit to meeting together. It’s not a stretch to say that for many of us it is a matter of living or dying. We simply cannot stand on our own - we need encouragement, we need to be spurred onto love and good deeds. We will not survive in isolation. We need each other.
In response to the message today I want to ask 2 things.
I want you to commit to fellowship. (Teaser for the Fall)
I want us to take some time praying for and encouraging one another today.
I believe that one of the most important reasons we gather together is to encourage one another.
Let’s pray together.
Bring us together, Lord. In a world filled with discouragement let us find encouragement in fellowship with other believers. Spur us on to love and good works.